Chapter 24: Returning the Favor (4)

Chapter 24: Returning the Favor (4) Translator: miraclerifle Editor: Borderline Masochist Instead, the Black Dragon just slowly crawled back into the path. While Cale was watching the dragon in disbelief, he could hear a quiet voice piercing through the wind to reach his ear. “...I was ... just passing by.” “Tsk.” The Black Dragon’s back flinched after hearing Cale click his tongue, but Cale did not have time to pay attention to the dragon. The cave’s wind had a cycle of 3 hours of strong wind and 3 hours of weak wind. This was the moment that the wind started to get weaker. Of course, it would still become stronger the closer he got to the center. Swiiiiiiiiiiiiish. “Quite scary.” The wind was still pretty strong to be called the, ‘weak phase.’ The novel mentioned that the 150 year old man walked through this strong wind to get to the rock tower. Cale turned his gaze back to the center of the cave. The large underground area. In the middle of the tornado was a half-stacked rock tower. It looked like there were no winds over there. Next to the half-stacked rock tower were numerous other rocks. ‘I need to stack all of those rocks up.’ The issue was getting to the tower. Stacking the rocks would not be a problem. Cale looked over the shield and the wings surrounding him, before taking a step forward. Tang. Tang. The rough wind clashed against the shield. Even though the silver shield was transparent, it sounded like the wind was hitting a real metal shield. That noise made the Black Dragon that was looking away slowly turn around to look at Cale. “...But you are weak...” The Cale that the dragon could see was having a difficult time, even though the shield and wings were protecting him. The wind that could not be blocked by the shield and wings was making his clothes flutter. The wind that seeped through the bottom of the shield made him stop moving every so often as well. However, Cale continued to step forward one step at a time. Then the dragon saw it. Cale was smiling. This human, that was nothing compared to that strong tornado, the same human that was weaker than even the kittens he was traveling with, the human that was the weakest out of everybody he was traveling with, was smiling while pushing through this wind. The dragon had never seen such a silver shield before. He had never seen such wings either. The dragon took a look at his own wings. It was very different from his wings. It was extremely beautiful. The dragon was curious as to what that power might be. However, the dragon was focused not on the holy and magnificent shield nor wings. Its full attention was on the smiling Cale. And the target of the gaze, Cale, was continuing to smile. ‘It’s doable. It’s comfortable.’ It was a bit difficult and slow because of the wind, but it was actually a breeze. Compared to how Beacrox was almost killed by Ron while being taught his sword art, this was child’s play. This made Cale once again feel like it really was best to earn something without putting in much effort. There were no physical or mental strain endured when using the Indestructible Shield. There would be a short strain if it was to break, but it was not in any danger of breaking right now. ‘It just gets pushed back.’ The shield just got pushed back if the wind was strong. Honestly speaking, Cale had expected to be pushed back multiple times. That was why he had originally lowered the strength of the shield and enlarged it as much as possible. He had been planning on slowly shrinking the size of the shield whenever he got pushed back. However, this shield was working better than Cale had expected. That made Cale a bit smug, but when he had reached about the halfway mark to the center of the tornado, he had to get rid of all side thoughts. The novel had said that you would hear a voice once you got close to the center. It was supposed to be the voice of an old man. Cale was waiting for that voice. The tornado was supposed to get stronger once the voice started to appear. - I regret it. He could hear the voice. But it was a bit odd. - Ahem, I regret it. It was a sad old man. “Tsk tsk.” Cale clicked his tongue. None of these ancient powers were normal. Why did Taylor think the old man’s voice was sincere? Cale could not understand Taylor’s train of thought. However, Cale stopped clicking his tongue and stopped moving. - The one that has a power that I am familiar with, I am hoping that you do not get this power. “Hmm?” ‘The one with a power I am familiar with?’ That phrase had caught Cale’s attention. At the same time, the wind started to get stronger and swept through the area. Tang. Tang. Tang. The wind clashed even stronger against the transparent wind and made loud noises. However, Cale’s concerned expression was not because of the wind. His hair continued to flutter in the wind. ‘Is he talking about the Indestructible Shield?’ The only thing that Cale could deduce about this, ‘familiar power,’ was the Indestructible Shield. It had not said anything like that to Taylor in the novel. Did the owner of this ancient power know the owner of the Indestructible Shield? Multiple thoughts flew across Cale’s mind at once. However, Cale still chose to step forward for now. The wind would only get stronger if he delayed any longer. - I pretty much betrayed my comrades! I was a terrible person! Ahem, I stayed alive on my own and got old. How shameful am I?! Cale could only hear the old man’s voice every so often as he was having difficulty stepping forward one step at a time. - I was always hoping for everyone to come back to life. However, my wish was something that could not be achieved. I could only lament and cry! That was why I could not finish my rock tower. “How annoying.” Cale found the old man’s lamenting voice to be annoying. Screw sincere, it was like he wanted to die. It was the style that Cale hated. Epicureans were so much better. Cale centered his body after being slightly pushed back, and put some strength into his legs. He could hear the voice once again after taking another step. - This restoration strength is useless. It is only capable of protecting myself. It is not helpful in any other way. I am a trash! Cale ignored the cries of the old man that rang through his mind. The power to protect himself was most important to Cale. Who cares if it made him trash. None of it mattered as long as he could live. Just five more steps. The center of the tornado was right in front of him. Boom. Boom. Boom. The sound of the wind that was clashing became stronger. It was as if a human was punching the shield. ‘It might break.’ Cale thought that the wind might now be strong enough for the shield to break. It should be doing more damage than just pushing him back now. The moment Cale thought that the wind might cut him, he realized something else as well. - I did not die even when the wind cut me like a sharp blade. It was the fact that the owners of these ancient powers were all extremely chatty. Cale immediately curled up and decreased the size of the shield. Boom Boom. The shield was now smaller, but in return, it was much stronger. It was able to push back an even stronger force of wind. Cale reached out toward the transparent shield and clenched the transparent handle on the inside of the shield as he continued to move forward. One step. - Restoration is a cursed power. Two steps. - My heart was always beating. But I could not move on. Three steps. - It was because I was afraid of death. Four steps. - I was afraid of pain because I had always been injured, and I was even more afraid of death, the end of that pain. And finally. Cale took the final fifth step. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh- The inside of the windless area sounded like it was raining all around Cale. The eye of the storm. The winds were swarming the area outside this calm center. He could hear the old man’s voice along with the sound of the wind. - I chose to throw everything else away so that I could continue to live. That was the last thing the old man said. “Tsk.” ‘Who cares about anything else? Living comes first.’ This old man had a lot of useless things to say. Cale clicked his tongue and returned the shield back to his heart. The silver light surrounding him instantly disappeared. He headed toward the half completed rock tower and crouched down in front of it. It was a normal rock tower that you could find at the top of a mountain. However, all of these rocks were black. Just like the man-eating tree, these rocks that have existed since ancient times were different from normal rocks. Just like the wind surrounding this area. “Whatever.” Cale, who had been thinking about making it aesthetically pleasing, changed his mind. That would be too annoying. He took out a pair of gloves from his pocket and put them on before picking the rocks up to stack the rest of the rock tower.